


Congratulations

by trevanna26



Category: Golden Child (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25379188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trevanna26/pseuds/trevanna26
Summary: Jaehyun and Jibeom have been together for some time, but their relationship is currently on pause because Jibeom had asked Jaehyun for some time and space.
Relationships: Bae Seungmin/Son Youngtaek | TAG, Bong Jaehyun/Kim Jibeom, Hong Joochan/Kim Donghyun
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. Space and Time

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimers:  
> ♫ all characters&events are fictional  
> ♫ main story based on DAY6’s Congratulations&You're Beautiful  
> ♫ other plots may also be inspired by other DAY6 songs. let's see where it goes (hello mydays)
> 
> characters:  
> ♫ Jaehyun, Youngtaek, Seungmin, Jangjun and Daeyeol are friends.  
> ♫ Jibeom, Donghyun, Joochan, Bomin and Sungyoon are friends.  
> ♫ JH, YT, SM, JB, DH, and JC are all in the same year.  
> ♫ DY, SY, and JJ are two years ahead of them, while BM is one year below them.  
> ♫ JH, YT, and SM are roommates.  
> ♫ JB, DH, and JC are roommates.  
> ♫ DY and JJ are roommates.  
> ♫ SY and BM are brothers.  
> ♫ They all know each other and are friends because of Jibeom and Jaehyun  
> ♫ Other characters will be introduced as the story progresses
> 
> reminders:  
> ♫ may contain foul language  
> ♫ english is not my first language so I apologize if there are some mistakes  
> ♫ will update 1x /2x a week. If my mood is good, every other day :»  
> ♫ please leave comments if you liked the story! I appreciate it very much ^^

Jaehyun got woken up by the sunlight shining on his face. His roommate, Bae Seungmin, had once again opened the curtains on his window to force him to wake up and get out of bed. He knew that Jaehyun doesn’t get to sleep well with sunlight or the lights on.

It was officially a month after Jibeom had asked him for some time and space. And here he was, hoping that as each day passes, the closer the day that Jibeom would go back to him. They had been together for a year now and they’ve been friends longer than that, so Jaehyun had complete trust in Jibeom that they would be together again and that this was just a phase they would go through. 

But that doesn’t hide the fact that Jaehyun was still grief-stricken about this. He sighed heavily as he stared at the ceiling, rubbing his eyes so the tears threatening to fall from his eyes won’t come out. 

He slowly sat up from his bed, got out of his room and walked towards the bathroom with heavy footsteps. He did the usual, brush his teeth, wash his face, and then he stared at himself in the mirror. ‘ _What happened to you Bong Jaehyun? You look so thin and tired now. You have to pull yourself together and still take care of yourself!’_ , he mentally cursed at himself as he gazed at the ghastly visual looking back at him.

He has to at least try to be happy today. Tonight was the last day of the weeklong university fair at their school and he had always gone to those with his friends, Youngtaek, Seungmin, Jangjun and Daeyeol. Well, of course he went with Jibeom before too, along with Jibeom’s own set of friends. But this year, it would just be him and his close friends. He has to at least try to cheer up for them. He wouldn’t want to ruin the fun for all of them.

By the time it reached 5pm, Jaehyun knocked on Seungmin’s door to inform him that he was ready to leave the dorm for the fair. He immediately received a notification on his phone that Seungmin had messaged the friends in their group chat that they were leaving their dorm. They left their dorm with Youngtaek once they were all ready.

Arriving at the restaurant where the friends planned to have dinner before going to the fair, the three instantly saw Jangjun and Daeyeol waving at them from a table they assumed were reserved for the five of them. 

“Hey guys! What took you so long? Jangjun here has been whining for about 20 minutes how hungry he is.” Daeyeol complained to the three as they sat down at the table.

“Sorry hyung. Youngtaek took a long time choosing what earrings he should wear today.” Seungmin explained, looking at Youngtaek annoyingly.

“Ya! It’s the fair today, okay! I only want to look good ‘cus there’s many people we can meet today. What if we bump into some girls and I look like shit. We don’t want that to happen right?” Youngtaek explained himself.

The three younger friends sat across their hyungs and they ordered their food.

While they were talking and eating their food, Jaehyun noticed the sudden change of atmosphere at their table. He caught sight of the panicked faces of Daeyeol and Jangjun and got curious at what they were looking at behind him. Before he got the chance to turn around and look at what made their faces look so shocked, Seungmin and Youngtaek got ahead of him, and after looking behind them, the two looked at each other with the same expression as Daeyeol and Jangjun. 

Jaehyun was about to turn around but the four suddenly did all of these things to distract Jaehyun. After much distraction and chaos, Jaehyun had finally had enough. 

“I don’t understand why you guys are like that, but I don’t have the energy to deal with you anymore. I’m still not feeling like myself since you-know-what. Anyways, I’m going to the bathroom.” said Jaehyun standing up from his chair.

Seungmin was quick enough to act and stood up from his chair to go with Jaehyun to the washroom. It was a good thing that the direction towards the bathroom was also the same direction as Jaehyun’s view from his chair, so he wouldn’t see what made the four boys so disturbed.

“What are they doing here?” Daeyeol whispered to the two remaining at the table.

“Most importantly, what is Jibeom doing with the guy he’s sitting with? Are they together or something?” replied Jangjun taking a peek again at the group of friends at the nearby table.

“It’s only been a month since he asked Jaehyun for space. I don’t want Jaehyun to see them. He was already sad enough with their cool off. Imagine how he would feel seeing Jibeom with another guy. Aish! Why did their group of friends decide to eat in the same restaurant as us.” Youngtaek said, irritated with the situation.

“We would just have to distract Jaehyun and immediately go out of this restaurant once he and Seungmin get out of the bathroom.” Jangjun explained the plan in detail to the other two and they also texted Seungmin about it.

At the instant Jaehyun and Seungmin got out of the bathroom, their plan was executed. Jangjun and Youngtaek kept distracting Jaehyun while they were getting their things at the table. Seungmin was making sure that Jaehyun wouldn’t look at the direction of Jibeom’s table and Daeyeol was keeping a lookout on the said table. They successfully departed the restaurant and went on their way to the fair.

It was a fun night so far for the five friends. The four were glad that they could see Jaehyun smiling and having fun genuinely since a month ago. They let their guard down as they thought that Jibeom wouldn’t have possibly gone to this fair. It was kind of established that the last day of the fair was Jaehyun’s thing with his friends. Jibeom wouldn’t go to this fair right?

Daeyeol went with Jangjun who wanted to play the carnival games at the fair. Seungmin, Youngtaek, and Jaehyun were sitting down in the field as they waited for the next performer on stage. The three were more interested in the bands performing rather than playing games, and besides, it would just be a waste of money for them.

“I’m kind of hungry. I’m going to buy some food at the stalls. Do you guys want anything?” Jaehyun stood up, shaking the dirt from sitting on the grass off his pants.

“Nah. I think we’re good.” Youngtaek replied.

“Oh wait. Could you grab me a bottle of water? I'm kind of thirsty.” Seungmin asked Jaehyun.

“Alright. I’ll be right back.” Jaehyun stated and walked towards the food stalls.

“One hotdog sandwich and two bottles of water please.” Jaehyun paid the person at the food stall.

“Hyung! Is that Jaehyun at the food stall?” Jangjun nudged Daeyeol and pointed towards Jaehyun’s direction.

“You’re right, it’s him. Hey Jaehyun!!!!” Daeyeol called Jaehyun and the two waved so Jaehyun could spot them easily.

_‘Huh? Is somebody calling me?’_ Jaehyun looked around and didn’t see anybody calling him. He turned back his attention to the food stall and got his sandwich in one hand, and the two bottles of water on the other hand.

“Jaehyun!!! Jaehyun!!! Over here!!!” Daeyeol and Jangjun continuously called Jaehyun, until Jaehyun finally saw them. They really weren’t that far from each other, but because of the noise and the crowded place, it was a bit hard to see each other.

“Hey hyungs!” Jaehyun smiled and waved at them. He walked towards the direction of the two older boys, when he suddenly stopped walking and dropped the food and water from his hands.

“W-what…. I --- “ Jaehyun tried to bring out words from his mouth, but couldn’t seem to. His chest started to tighten and he started to breathe heavily as if he was running out of breath. Daeyeol and Jangjun were puzzled and looked at what Jaehyun was focused on that made him speechless.

It was him.


	2. Sorry ?

It was Jibeom. He was with the same guy he was with at the restaurant a while ago. They were holding hands, but you could see that Jibeom had the same expression as Jaehyun, and the two just stared at each other. Daeyeol and Jangjun didn’t know what they were supposed to do. They were as surprised at the circumstances as the other two.

Jaehyun ignored the food he dropped on the ground and suddenly ran the opposite direction with tears in his eyes. ‘ _ No no no. You will not break down in front of him Jaehyun. You will not break down in public. Get a hold of yourself!’ _ He ran as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he was headed, but he wanted to get away from that place as fast as he could.

Jibeom was shocked at the situation as well. He was dumbfounded for a moment but got a hold of himself immediately. He told Donghan, the guy he was currently with, that he had to take care of something first and explain to him later. He instantly ran after Jaehyun, internally scolding himself for not taking care of this from the start.  _ ‘You’ve been very selfish Jibeom. How could you do this to a person like Jaehyun???’ _

Jibeom ran in the same direction where Jaehyun was headed. It was fortunate that Jibeom had a healthy and fit body that he easily caught up with Jaehyun, who in contrast had a weak and fragile one. 

"Hey Hyun-ah. Stop running." Jibeom shouted at Jaehyun as he went near him. He could see that Jaehyun was starting to slow down. He took this chance to run faster towards him.

"Jaehyun… Please stop running away. Let's talk." Jibeom said as he held Jaehyun's left arm to stop him.

"Let me go Beom! I don't want to see you!" Jaehyun tried to get away from Jibeom's grip on his arm but he was just too strong.

"Hyun… Please let me explain. Let's talk about this please?" Jibeom said. He saw tears on Jaehyun's face as Jaehyun turned around. But Jaehyun tried not to show he was crying and immediately wiped the tears on his face with his free right hand.

"What do you want Jibeom?" Jaehyun replied coldly.

"Let's go sit over there. We need to breathe awhile first after all that running. You know you can't handle that much running right?" Jibeom smiled at Jaehyun warmly.

_ 'Even with all of these things happening, how can you still smile at me like that?' _ Jaehyun thought as they sat down on the nearby bench.

"I --- I don't know where to start Hyun…" Jibeom said playing with his own hands and fingers while looking at the ground.

Jaehyun was just quiet, waiting for Jibeom to explain. He let out a heavy sigh as a sign for Jibeom to continue speaking. To be honest, he himself also didn't know how to start this conversation.

“I know that we talked about this last month. We both knew we were having our problems. The constant small fights, the less frequent talks, having less time for each other…” Jibeom started to talk while Jaehyun was just passively intaking everything the other was saying, preparing himself for the worst.

Jibeom continued, “I know I was the one who said maybe I just needed time and space from you. Maybe after that, all of our problems would be fixed and everything would go back to the way it was. That's why I asked for us to just take a break. I --- " Jibeom ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily as he continued, "I didn't know it would end up this way Hyun… I--- I really don't want to hurt you ---" 

"But you already did…" Jaehyun cut off Jibeom's explanation. Jibeom lifted his head up to look at Jaehyun who just had a blank expression on his face, staring at the space in front of them. He didn't want to hurt Jaehyun, but he couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry Hyun… " Jibeom apologized, still looking for any sign of sadness or anger from Jaehyun, reading his face. He looked at those beautiful eyes that were once full of life and brightness, now only filled with hurt and disappointment.

"You said you needed time. You needed space. And I gave that to you. But from what I saw a while ago, I could tell that you did more than just move on." Jaehyun let out a bitter laugh. "I can't believe that that's what you've been doing, while I've been so miserable this past month Beom... I mean, Jibeom…"

"Hyun ---"

"Don't...! Call me that…." Jibeom tried to reason out but got cut off by Jaehyun.

There was silence after Jaehyun's sudden outburst towards Jibeom. Jibeom didn't know what to say. He was racking his mind on what were the right words to say in this situation. He didn't want to provoke Jaehyun any further.

"Are you finally happy?" Jaehyun finally broke the silence and asked Jibeom, trying to control his emotions to not break down in front of the man that broke his heart.

"Do you really want to hear my answer to that Hyun?"

"I said…. stop... calling me that." Jaehyun said from his gritted teeth. "Just answer the fxking question Kim Jibeom." 

"I --- I am." Jibeom answered hanging his head low. He looked away from Jaehyun. He knows he wouldn't bear to see Jaehyun's reaction whatever it was. It would just shatter his heart. How could he be so heartless to hurt a person who only wanted to love and take care of him?

"Well, I'm glad you're happy now." Jaehyun stood up getting ready to leave after their talk.

Before completely walking away from Jibeom, Jaehyun turned around and looked at him one last time in the eye.

"And Beom?” Jibeom met his gaze and tilted his head wondering why Jaehyun called him by his name that only Jaehyun called him --- a name he assumed would be the last time he would hear from Jaehyun’s lips. 

Jaehyun blinked away the tears forming in his eyes and mustered up the courage to say his final words to Jibeom.

“Congratulations."


	3. Friends

“Congratulations.” 

Jaehyun wished Jibeom, bitterly, before turning away and walking back to the fair to his friends. He knew he couldn’t be alone right now. There was just _too much_ going on inside his head.

Once he walked far enough, he took out his phone from his pocket and saw that there were many missed calls from his friends. Daeyeol and Jangjun must have told Seungmin and Youngtaek what they saw because the four of them have been contacting him for the past forty minutes.

He called the first person that came to his mind.

“He...hello? Yy..you--Youngtaek?” Youngtaek heard Jaehyun’s voice breaking on the other line.

“Jaehyun? Where are you? Are you okay? Daeyeol and Jangjun hyung told us what happened. Are you ---” Youngtaek got cut off by the sound of Jaehyun crying.

“Y-yo-youngtaek…” Jaehyun tried to call out his friend’s name but failed to properly do so. His legs suddenly gave out and he couldn’t stand up from where he was. He sat on the side of the street and was suddenly crying his eyes out.

Meanwhile the four friends were all over the campus looking for Jaehyun ever since he left the fair. They were running all around while Youngtaek tried to talk calmly to Jaehyun over the phone.

“Jaehyun… Please tell us where you are…” Youngtaek heard the muffled sound of Jaehyun’s sobs over the phone. He knew those sounds all too well. Jaehyun has been crying like this over the past month, but this was the worst one he heard so far. He thinks Jaehyun couldn't talk because he couldn’t stop crying.

“Hey… Jaehyun… At least tell us where you are… We’re really worried about you right now.” Youngtaek was close to crying too because he knew how hurt his friend was. “If you can’t talk, at least open the location on your phone and we’ll go to you. Let us help you... please?”

Jaehyun did as he was told. He wanted to talk to his friend over the phone but he couldn’t bring himself to speak because of all the crying.

“Hyungs! Seungmin! I know where Jaehyun is! He sent me his location.” Youngtaek shouted to the other three.

“Let’s go!” Daeyeol said and they ran to the location that Jaehyun sent them.

Once they arrived at the location, they were taken aback by the sight in front of them. They didn’t know Jaehyun would look this devastated. They knew him as a strong and bright person. Seeing him like this terribly broke their hearts. 

He was sitting at the side of the street, knees clutched to his chest. He hid his face in between his legs and even from afar they could see that he was shaking, probably because of how hard he was crying.

“Hey Jaehyun. We’re here.” Jangjun was the first one to approach and sit down next to Jaehyun. He smiled comfortingly at the distressed kid beside him. They all sat beside Jaehyun at the side of the street.

Jaehyun didn't even look at them. He kept his head down and suddenly hugged Youngtaek who was beside him on the other side. The four friends just looked at each other and let Jaehyun cry his heart out. 

"It's okay Jaehyun. We're here now. You have us." Youngtaek just continuously pats Jaehyun’s back to comfort him while the other let out his emotions.

After Jaehyun calmed down, the five friends went to a restaurant that was still open near their dorms. They ate quietly and the four, excluding Jaehyun who just played with the food on his plate, looked at each other not knowing what to say.

“So...." Jangjun started the conversation. "Do you want to talk about it?” He took a mouthful of his food and cautiously looked at Jaehyun and the others.

“But it’s totally fine if you don’t want to! We understand!” Youngtaek waved his hands furiously.

“It’s okay guys…”, Jaehyun raised his head and smiled at his friends. “I can’t thank you enough for being here for me.”

“Hey! What are friends for, right? You know we’re always here for you.” Daeyeol grinned at Jaehyun.

“Uhmm… Could we order some alcohol?” Jaehyun asked his friends. He thought the alcohol might help him with whatever was happening.

“Are you sure you want to drink?” Seungmin asked him.

“Ya! Seungmin! Stop being so overprotective to Jaehyun!” Youngtaek teased Seungmin for being so motherly again. 

“He clearly needs the drink now. I think it’s a good idea to order some alcohol!” Jangjun, being the alcohol lover he is, instantly called the waiter and ordered for them. 

The drinks arrived at their table right away and Jangjun poured the alcohol in their respective shot glasses.

Jaehyun didn’t even wait for them to toast together and immediately drank from his glass. He got one of the bottles and poured himself another drink.

“Hey ---” Seungmin was about to scold Jaehyun for being so reckless with drinking, but Youngtaek grabbed his hand under the table and looked at Seungmin in a threatening way.

“Eyyy~ Just let Jaehyun be for tonight.” Youngtaek whispered to Seungmin.

“Fine fine.” Seungmin rolled his eyes at Youngtaek, “Can you let go of my hand now, please?” He raised his eyebrows at him.

Youngtaek didn’t notice he was still holding Seungmin’s hand. He let it go at once and drank from his shot glass awkwardly. 

_‘What was that Youngtaek? Why are you acting all fiddly over that?’_ He talked to himself in his head.

The four other guys started talking about some band that they heard perform at the fair a while ago. Meanwhile, Jaehyun was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to join the conversation.

He opened his phone, browsed his gallery, and looked through all of his photos with Jibeom.

'I can't believe it. We're really officially over.' He thought to himself as he looked at their photos smiling happily together. He continuously takes shots of alcohol as he looks at the pictures that will now be just memories of the past.

'What happened? How did we become like this? We were so happy…' Jaehyun didn't even realize that he said his thoughts out loud, loud enough that his friends heard him. 

Youngtaek who was beside him looked at what Jaehyun was doing and saw that he was staring at his pictures with Jibeom. Before he could do or say anything, Jangjun beat him to it and snatched Jaehyun's phone away from him.

"Ya ya ya!!! Stop looking at these Jaehyun!" Jangjun scolded him.

"We are confiscating your phone. You're drinking too much and you're starting to get drunk." Daeyeol said.

He took the phone from Jangjun and gave it to Youngtaek. "Here Youngtaek. Keep his phone for a while. Don't let him take it for the meantime. Who knows what he might do. He might drunk text or call Jibeom and we don't want that happening."

"As if I want to talk to that bastard again." Jaehyun scoffed, drinking another shot.

Seven bottles of alcohol later, Jaehyun was already drunk. Well, after drinking four bottles alone, who wouldn’t be drunk? 

He was becoming very clingy and wouldn't let go of Youngtaek's arm beside him.

"You guys won't leave me right?" Jaehyun asked, pouting his lips, eyes closed and still clinging to Youngtaek.

"Of course we won't! We're always going to be here for you Jaehyun." Youngtaek replied, laughing at how cute Jaehyun looked right now, clinging to him.

"That's right! You guys are nothing like him! You're loyal to me and wouldn't replace me!" Jaehyun suddenly sat up straight and hiccuped from all the alcohol he drank, his eyes still closed.

"I think it's time we head home. This one needs to be put into bed." Seungmin said, calling the waiter to pay their bill.

Outside the restaurant, the five boys bid goodbye to each other.

"Are you sure you guys can handle this?" Daeyeol asked Seungmin and Youngtaek who held each of Jaehyun's arms on their shoulders.

"Kim Jibeom, you piece of sh*t!!!" Jaehyun suddenly shouted. Then he got quiet again and rested his head on Youngtaek's shoulder. The four friends just laughed at their drunk friend.

"We're fine hyung. Our dorm is just 5 minutes from here. We can handle this." Seungmin assured their older friends.

"Alright. Inform us when you get home, okay?" Jangjun said, still looking worriedly over drunk Jaehyun.

“Yes hyung! Take care on your way home!” Youngtaek waved at their friends and he and Seungmin dragged Jaehyun on their way home.

"Congratulations, glad you're doing great, woah~~ Congratulations, how are you okay WOOAAAHHHH" Jaehyun loudly sang DAY6's 'Congratulations' while the three walked back to their dorm. Seungmin and Youngtaek just laughed at their friend's antics.

"Ya… Jaehyun-ah… Who knew you'd still be a good singer even when you're dead drunk huh?" Youngtaek looked at his friend and chuckled, commenting on Jaehyun's singing.

"How could you be so fine~ I can see it in your eyes~ The same look that you gave me, that kills me inside, ooohh~" Jaehyun continued singing, losing his balance as he walked. It was a good thing he had Youngtaek and Seungmin holding him at both sides, so he didn't have his face to the floor right now.

"Let him be… At least he can express how he's feeling like this." Seungmin looked at Youngtaek, waiting for a response. But he saw his friend too absorbed in Jaehyun's singing, and that he started singing along with Jaehyun too. 

"I don't even need to ask, yeah~ I know you too damn well, yeah~ I can see that smile and can tell that you did more than move on~" 

He decided to not interfere with it and just quietly carried Jaehyun on one shoulder, while the other two sang the whole way back.

"I hate that you're happy~ I hope that you can't sleep~ Just knowing that I could be with somebody new~ That I'd be just like you~~~" Youngtaek and Jaehyin continued to sing while Seungmin just shook his head at what his two friends were doing.

Once they finally reached their dorm, Jaehyun was tired from all the stumbling and singing he did.

"You can go rest now, Seungmin. I'll be the one to put Jaehyun to bed." Youngtaek told Seungmin, taking off their shoes at the entrance of their dorm.

"Alright. Just call me if you need help. I'll be going to my bed now. Good night!" Seungmin replied, going into his room.

Youngtaek went into Jaehyun's room while dragging the other that was still clinging to his arm.

"Hey Jaehyun-ah. We're home. You can go to bed now." Youngtaek carefully peeled off Jaehyun's arms from his and gently sat down Jaehyun on his bed. 

Jaehyun already had his eyes closed and Youngtaek tucked in Jaehyun in his bed.

"Youngtaek?" Jaehyun called for his friend, eyes still closed.

"Hmm?"

"Why does it ache so much?" Jaehyun slowly opened his eyes and looked at his friend, tears forming in his eyes again. 

"I feel like dying. I feel like my world has been crushed. What hurts more is that Jibeom seems to be completely fine without me, while I'm just so miserable here. I can't take it. It hurts so much here." Jaehyun started to cry again, holding his hand on his heart.

"Shhh… It'll be okay Jaehyun-ah. It'll be okay…" Youngtaek calmed his friend down, patting his head gently. 

"You should probably sleep now Jaehyun, get some rest…" He continued petting Jaehyun's head. The other was slowly getting sleepy, his eyelids getting heavy and his breathing becoming more steady.

"Please don't leave me." Before falling asleep Jaehyun subconsciously murmured, and held Youngtaek's hand.

"Okay okay… I won't leave you until you fall asleep." Youngtaek smiled at his friend who was gradually drifting off to his dream world.

When Youngtaek was sure that Jaehyun was already sleeping, he warily took his hand from Jaehyun's grip. He watched his friend of six years fall asleep. Maybe he would stay a few minutes more just to watch Jaehyun sleep. 

He reminisces the times they were so happy in high school. He couldn't bear to see Jaehyun lose all that energy and brightness over a guy like Jibeom.

“Don’t worry Jaehyun. We’ll be here with you through all of this. We’ll help you get over him. I’ll help you forget him.”

Little did he know Seungmin was outside of the door and heard everything he said to drunk Jaehyun on the bed.


	4. Happier

“Congratulations.”

Jaehyun wished Jibeom, bitterly, before walking away. He watched Jaehyun’s back until he was not in his sight anymore.

_ You’ve finally done it Jibeom. _ He sighed and took his phone out, texting the person that was the cause of all this mess and confusion in his heart.

_ From: Kim Jibeom _

_ To : Kim Donghan _

__ __ __ _ Hey… I just finished talking to Jaehyun. I’m sorry if it took longer than expected.  _

__ __ __ _ Where are you? I’ll just go to wherever you are. _

Jibeom locked his phone and looked up at the sky, trying to admire the scenery illuminated by starlight before him. He and Jaehyun used to always go on these night walks when they just wanted to hang out without using too much energy. They would sit on benches very similar to the ones on the side of the road he's walking on, and just be in each other's company, relishing the silence under the moonlit sky.

Jibeom's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a message notification on his phone.

_ From: Kim Donghan _

__ __ __ _ It’s okay, Jibeom. I understand. _

_ I’ll be waiting for you at the entrance of the fair. Let’s go get something to eat before heading home? :) _

Jibeom replied an ‘okay’ and stood up, dusting off the dirt on his pants, before walking towards the venue of the fair.

He was walking calmly, when he heard sounds of whimpering at the side of the road and saw Jaehyun, knees clutched to his chest, with a heavy set of tears streaming down his face.

“Y-yo-youngtaek…” Jibeom couldn’t quite understand at first what Jaehyun had said. But knowing him, he was most likely speaking on the phone to the only other person he could trust, Youngtaek. 

_ ‘Well, not ‘only other’ anymore, Jibeom. He REALLY is the ONLY person he can trust now. You’ve broken him and his trust.’  _ Jibeom corrected himself in his mind.

Jibeom had this unexplainable urge to sit beside Jaehyun and comfort him, but he stopped himself. 

_ ‘What’s wrong with you, Jibeom? You hurt him like that, and now you want to go to his side and comfort him? That’s just a f*cked up thing to do…’ _ Jibeom thought to himself as he turned his back and hid himself behind a street light post, worried that Jaehyun might see him if he looks his way.

He didn’t know why but he can't seem to move and walk away from where he was standing. It was as if his feet were nailed to the ground. At the back of his mind, he was still very worried about Jaehyun. He didn't want the other to be alone.

Jibeom turned to look at Jaehyun again, and saw that the other had his head down, his shoulders shaking. 

Jaehyun lifted his head up to remove the tears on his face. Jibeom noticed that Jaehyun had wiped his eyes so much they were all red and swollen. 

Seeing Jaehyun like that made his heart hurt, contrary to what he expected. 

_ He had ended things with Jaehyun because he was happier now. He can’t remember the last time he did feel this happy… and... he was sure that he didn’t feel this kind of thing with Jaehyun… at least he thought he didn’t... _

_ Was it really the correct thing to do? Was it the right decision to end things with Jaehyun? If he really was happier, why was he feeling like this? What was this aching feeling in his heart? _

Before he could think or do anything in relation to Jaehyun, Youngtaek and Jaehyun's other friends showed up and went to Jaehyun to comfort him. They sat beside him and gave their support and sympathy to their friend.

Jibeom felt a little bit better, knowing that Jaehyun wasn't alone anymore, and was with his friends now. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and took one last look at Jaehyun, before walking back to the fair to meet with Donghan.

"Hey!" Donghan greeted, giving him a bright smile. 

_ Yeah, this is how it should be now. I should be happy with Donghan, and forget about Jaehyun… _

Jibeom smiled back at Donghan and took the other’s hand.

"Where do you want to eat?" Jibeom started to walk away from the noisy area and gave out his famous eye smile, the same eye smile that made Donghan fall for him.

"We could just grab a bite somewhere near our dorms so we could save time. It's also getting a bit late. You still have to go visit your parents tomorrow morning." Donghan said, following Jibeom.

"Oh yeah… I almost forgot I have to visit them tomorrow…" Jibeom replied absentmindedly.

Donghan observed that despite Jibeom being all smiley and giddy next to him, he knew that Jibeom’s mind was somewhere else. He couldn’t deny it himself -- that Jibeom was still probably distracted from his talk with Jaehyun earlier.

He was unsure whether it would be a good idea to ask Jibeom about his conversation with Jaehyun earlier. But his feelings betrayed him and let it get the best of him.

"So…" Donghan started nervously.

"Hrmm?" Jibeom turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

"N-nothing…" Donghan looked down, suddenly becoming conscious, and realizing that it really was a bad idea to bring up that topic.

"Hey… what is it?" Jibeom stopped walking. He held both of Donghan’s hands in his, and looked him straight in the eyes.

Donghan looked away from Jibeom's stare, thinking of some excuse he could say to cover up what he really wanted to ask Jibeom.

But Jibeom just squeezed his hands in a reassuring way.

"Were you curious about my chat with Jaehyun a while ago?" Donghan looked up and met Jibeom's gaze. He didn't know what to reply to Jibeom's question, so he stayed silent -- which Jibeom then took as a yes.

"You don't have to be shy or conscious about it. I can tell you everything. You don't have to worry." Jibeom chuckled at him, pinching his cheeks. Donghyun just pouted at the other boy's actions.

Jibeom continued to walk, dragging Donghan along the way and told him what happened. 

_ YES. Donghan was fully aware of the whole Jibeom - Jaehyun relationship.  _

_ Why did he get together with Jibeom even with that history? _ At first, Donghan genuinely didn't want to involve himself with the said guy. But what happened was out of his control. 

It was something the both of them didn't expect, but they knew that they were both happy. So despite Jibeom's past, they decided to just go with it.

"-- so... that's what happened. You don't have to worry anymore. I finished it cleanly." Jibeom gave Donghan a small smile as he finished explaining, just in time for their arrival at the restaurant.

They spent their time happily at the restaurant, eating and laughing heartily, just talking about random things.

Once they were done, they went outside of the restaurant and bid their goodbyes.

"I'll see you at school on Monday?" Donghan asked Jibeom.

"See you on Monday." Jibeom replied.

_ 'This is what it should feel like… You really are happier now.'  _ Jibeom thought to himself, smiling at the boy in front of him.

"Well then, I'll head home now. Bye Jibeom!" Donghan waved goodbye and turned around to walk home. Jibeom, on the other hand, headed the opposite direction towards his dorm.

As he was walking peacefully, he suddenly heard someone shout around the corner of his street.

"Kim Jibeom, you piece of sh*t!!!" 

_ 'Kim Jibeom? Me???'  _ He tilted his head in confusion.

_ 'Wait that voice sounds familiar….' _

Jibeom was hit by this wave of realization.

_ 'OH…. IT'S JAEHYUN…' _

' _ He's probably drunk. He tends to get really loud when he's drunk…'  _ Jibeom thought as he carefully turned to the corner of his street. 

He was cautious as he walked on his street because he lived in the same street as Jaehyun. And his suspicions were confirmed once he saw the three friends walking in front of him. Jqehyun's arms were around both of his friends' shoulders since he couldn't walk properly by himself.

Jibeom shook his head and laughed quietly at Jaehyun.

_ 'Jaehyun-ah, why did you drink so much when you know you can't handle too much alcohol?' _

"Congratulations, glad you're doing great, woah~~ Congratulations, how are you okay WOOAAAHHHH" Jaehyun loudly sang DAY6's 'Congratulations' while walking back to their dorm.

"How could you be so fine~ I can see it in your eyes~ The same look that you gave me, that kills me inside, ooohh~" Jaehyun continued singing, losing his balance as he walked. 

Jibeom couldn't help but smile at Jaehyun's amusing behavior. But he got a grip on himself and scolded himself internally.

_ 'Hey Kim Jibeom. What are you doing? Stop thinking about Jaehyun now. You guys are done. Get a grip!'  _ He lightly slapped himself.

"I don't even need to ask, yeah~ I know you too damn well, yeah~ I can see that smile and can tell that you did more than move on~" He heard Youngtaek sing along with Jaehyun.

"I hate that you're happy~ I hope that you can't sleep~ Just knowing that I could be with somebody new~ That I'd be just like you~~~" Youngtaek and Jaehyun continued to sing while Jibeom walked silently behind the three friends, maintaining a distance so they wouldn't notice him. 

He was contemplating on what he was feeling right now. He decided to finish things with Jaehyun. He was absolutely sure about his decision… until a while ago… 

_ What am I really feeling??? _

_ I am smiling with Donghan, right? _

_ I enjoy my time with him…  _

_ I feel like I've also moved on from Jaehyun… _

_ I'm doing great, aren't I???? _

_ I am happier now . . .  _

_ aren’t I . . . ? _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story so far ^^
> 
> PLEASE do leave comments! I appreciate them hihi 💕💕💕
> 
> *Updates will be posted on Wednesday, Friday, and/or Sunday nights, 10PM KST.   
> *Updates will posted 1-3 times a week.   
> *It will vary depending on my progress, but rest assured I will update at least once a week 🤗


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